See Video: Local Mentors 'Planting Seeds' In Children's Lives

Natasha Thurmon, who is the founder of the camp, joined Maryland's News Now Wednesday to talk with the show's co-host Mary Beth Marsden about the camp and why she started it. Download This File

Summer isn't all about play. For the students apart of the Mindful Mentors Planting Seeds, the summer is also about making strides in their education too. (Photo taken by WBAL's Ashley Michelle Williams)

Thurmon says she wanted the program to focus on promoting the "true meaning of being an athlete." (Photo taken by WBAL's Ashley Michelle Williams)

The camp not only gives Baltimore students a leg up on the basketball court, but it also gives them a head start for the school year.

Natasha Thurmon, who is the founder of the camp, joined Maryland's News Now Wednesday to talk with the show's co-host Mary Beth Marsden about the camp and why she started it.

Thurmon told Mary Beth that she started the camp with several others last year after witnessing student athletes that she coached struggle to maintain academic success while pursuing their athletic passions.

She said she wanted the program to focus on promoting the "true meaning of being an athlete."

Thanks to a grant from the Annie Casey Foundation, students last year and this year can attend the camp for free.

This year, thirty students who are in middle school and high school attend the daily summer camp to work on their language arts, math, and basketball skills.

According to Thurmon, current and former basketball students mentor the kids in the classroom and on the court. They also mentor them in their personal development.

Thurmon said she believes the best part of the camp is the relationships that the students make with the mentors. She says the relationships are life-changing for the mentees and they continue to blossom during the school year.

From her efforts in creating Mindful Mentors Planting Seeds, Thurmon has received many honors, including Innovator of the Year and Philanthropist of the Year from the Maryland Association of Fundraising Professionals. She also made a guest appearance on BET's 106 and Park to talk about her camp and the impact that it is having on many lives.

Thurmon says she hopes more students and mentors will participate in the camp to continue generating positive changes in education and in the lives of youth.